Heavenly Comfort
by SaltyJak
Summary: "I like to look at the stars when I'm feeling down... It's comforting somehow." Timmy returned his gaze to the heavens. "What does that have to do with what you said earlier? When you said you liked me?" A slip of the tongue, and now Vicky was asking him too many questions. Added Chapter 3 and 4. So... now it's a fourshot?
1. Confessions Under the Stars

"Finally..." Timmy said with a sigh as he opened his front door.

It had been a long day of tests, quizzes, exams, and accusations of having fairies by Crocker, so Timmy was-

"I'm beat."

Well there ya go.

"Timmy! Great news!"

He was already doubting this claim as his mother burst into the living room from the kitchen. "What's that?" his voice was already monotone from fatigue.

"Your great aunt... Edna is sick, your father and I are going over to check up on her and the day spa she happens to live in!"

"Why is this great news?"

"Because you get to hang out with your favorite babysitter!" thin but strong arms wrapped around him from behind, pulling him into a stranglehold. Though it was more commonly known as a 'hug'.

Right. Vicky would save the strangling for when his parents were gone.

He looked up at her with bored eyes; he didn't even have the energy to be afraid at the moment. "Hey Vicky." he was too sapped of energy to even greet her with disdain.

"Don't worry about your Great Aunt Whatever-her-name-is, I'm sure she'll be just fine! In the meantime... we're going to have lots of fun! Just me and you, my favorite Twerp!"

Timmy inwardly sighed. It wasn't enough that she could do whatever she wanted to him when his parents weren't home, she had to convince them that 'Twerp' was a term of endearment. Now she could say it even in front of them and they were none the wiser.

"Well... bye, you two!" before Timmy realized it, his parents were already rushing out the door and into their car, leaving him at the mercy of the beast.

"Ugh..." Vicky untangled her arms from Timmy like he had some sort of disease and fell into the couch. "So how was school?"

Seriously? Was she really asking about his school life? Since when did she give a damn? Still... having someone to talk to about it was better than no one...

"Well Crocker-"

"Oh wait, I don't care. Do your chores." Vicky picked up the remote and turned on the TV. "That wasn't a request." she didn't look at him, but the dangerous edge in her voice suggested she meant business, much like every other day when she told him to do his chores.

As he walked to the kitchen and grabbed the mop from the closet, he thought about what he had been told. 'Growing up is great! No more babysitters, making your own decisions, being able to watch all those movies you were too young to...' Except whoever said that didn't have parents like Timmy did, or an evil babysitter like Vicky.

He was fourteen now, old enough to no longer need a babysitter by nearly anyone elses standards... But his parents weren't anyone else. The way things were going, Vicky would be a constant in his life for the _rest_ of his life. It might not be so bad if it weren't for the fact that she made his life miserable and was pure evil. After all, she _was_(much as he hated to admit it) easy on the eyes. Her creamy white skin, her slightly thin figure with just the right amount of curves, the light dusting of freckles on her cheeks, her fiery hair, and, of course, the eyes. Eyes you could get lost in for days...

Timmy stopped and looked around. He was still in the kitchen and had been mopping the same spot for the last fifteen minutes now. With a dry mop no less.

"Here I am again, daydreaming about my babysitter... like some kind of... well, like most teenagers my age, actually..."

"Oh? And in what ways are you daydreaming about me?"

"_Of course."_ he was still too tired to realize exactly how much trouble he was in, but his mind was slowly working to try and put the thought together. "What's that, Vicky?"

"Don't play dumb with me. I've been doing this long enough to know that you aren't dumb."

That sounded dangerously close to... a compliment?

Timmy's brain was now working at about half capacity, so it alerted him to what he had said. _"Oh..." _"I didn't say anything! N-nope! I- I- just... and the daydreaming... um..."

Vicky stepped forward and took the mop from Timmy, then threw it to her left, embedding it in the far wall. "I'm pretty sure you said something about daydreaming..." she came closer, causing Timmy to instinctively take a step back.

"You er... misheard?"

"Daydreaming about _me_, to be exact..." she was grinning now as she took another step forward. "Weren't you?"

Timmy took several more steps back, causing him to back into the cabinet behind him. "Er... no... I... I misspoke! I'm really tired today and-"

Vicky shot forward, pinning him between her and the cabinet. "I thought I misheard?"

Timmy looked down, hoping to avoid looking her in the eye. His eyes instead fell on her chest. After several seconds of distracted thought, Timmy opted for looking Vicky in the eyes.

"I saw that."

"_How could you not?"_ "Saw what?" Timmy laughed nervously.

Vicky leaned in ever closer, their noses now brushed against each other lightly. "I thought I told you not to play dumb?"

"I-I-I... I'm not!" he tried to wriggle form her grasp to no avail. "How are you this strong?!"

"So... got a crush on your babysitter?" she turned his head with her finger so he was looking at her again, noses touching. She was evidently going to ignore his question. "But... do you like me for me?" she spoke in a sultry voice, her eyes half-lidded. "Or..."

Timmy felt Vicky grab his hand and place it on her hip.

"Are you just after a more... base need?"

"...What?!" Timmy pulled back his hand as if he had just been burned. "W-what are you doing?!"

"The question isn't 'What am I doing' the question is 'What _aren't_ _you_ doing?'" Vicky leaned in and brushed her lips against his. "This _is_ what you want, isn't it?"

"I-"

"Don't answer that." Vicky leaned in again and brought their lips together.

They felt soft, softer than he would have imagined for someone like her. He thought they would've been chapped... or poisoned. After several tense seconds, Timmy relaxed and returned the kiss, eliciting a moan of contentment from Vicky, but something didn't feel right... it felt like... he was... falling?

_THUMP_

"Ow..." yep, he had fallen, faceplanted right onto the kitchen floor.

The door to the living room burst open, revealing Vicky, her hair slightly disheveled from... what? Sleeping perhaps? When did she sleep? They were both just in the kitchen, kissing and-

"The Hell was that- Oh. Just you. I expected you to clean the floor with a mop, not your body, but what-evs." Vicky went back into the living room.

Timmy looked around the kitchen, bewildered. _"What happened?" _Looking around the kitchen revealed that it was darker... Was it nighttime? A glance at the clock confirmed his suspicions, it was a quarter to nine. The mop he had been using laid on the floor next to him, still dry. "Did I... fall asleep?" that must've been it, he was so tired that he fell asleep leaning on the mop. He must've shifted slightly and caused both him and the mop to tip over. He recalled the dream he just had about Vicky. "I need help..."

"Twerp! Bed! Now!" the shout came from the living room.

"Fine..." not only had he failed to do his chores, but any free time he may have had was wasted too.

Walking through the living room and in front of the TV; eliciting an annoyed growl from Vicky, Timmy ascended the stairs and went into his room, not bothering to greet Cosmo and Wanda, who were likely asleep already anyway. He changed into clothes more fit for sleeping and crawled into bed. _"At least Vicky is leaving me alone..." _it was something he needed after today.

Timmy shut his bedside light and closed his eyes. It was quiet in his room, Cosmo's normally loud snoring being muffled by the water in the fishbowl. He could still barely hear the TV downstairs, Vicky must've lowered it so she could catch up on her sleep. Outside he could hear the occasional chirp from a cricket, though there were far less of them with the onset of the cold weather.

It was late October, just a few days before Halloween. Vicky had promised Timmy's parents that she would be watching him and his friends this year, much like every year, which basically meant that she'd pretend to watch them. Then, when their trick-or-treating was done, she'd take her 'babysitter's fee'(half their candy) as she called it, and send them home.

It wasn't that Timmy was okay with her doing this, much like he wasn't okay with doing her chores as well as his, or being tortured on a daily basis. It was merely something he had come to accept. Like the fact that his parents didn't care about him, or the fact that Vicky was evil... Or the fact that he had a crush on her, yet was too afraid to even think about it in her presence, nevermind act on it.

Timmy groaned and threw the covers off of himself. "Maybe... hm... worth a shot..." he got out of bed and went over to his closet.

_Vicky's POV..._

"I can't believe he fell asleep! ...I can't believe I fell asleep... and let him...!" in truth, she wasn't really mad. Whether he did his chores or not no longer affected how much she got paid. His parents just paid her up front and usually didn't care how the house looked when they got back. Though that didn't explain how the house always seemed to get repaired after she left...

"How did he even fall asleep? School can't be that hard... I know, I'm in college, that's hard. But high school? Cake."

_THUMP-CLANG_

"What now...? Twerp! I said to go to-" actually, she hadn't been up to his room in some time, she wondered if it had changed any? And going up to his room meant that she could show him that he wasn't safe from her anywhere... Vicky grinned evilly to herself and stood up, then climbed the stairs.

Knowing which room was his, she kicked the door in and looked around. "Meh... boring. Same bed, same TV, same computer and dresser, same stupid fish."

The two goldfish looked at her fearfully as she walked over to them.

"Hmph." the fish watched as she put her hand to the side of the fishbowl, expecting her to knock it onto the floor and blame that on Timmy as well. So they were understandably surprised when she instead sprinkled fish food into the bowl, eliciting a squeal of surprise from Cosmo, who began excitedly eating the food. "You two are probably the longest-lived goldfish I've ever seen... he must really care about you... or he's blessed with dumb luck." Vicky stood and looked around the room, Timmy clearly wasn't here... so where was he?

A creaking sound behind her drew her attention to the now ajar closet door. "You're in the closet? Well... I guess all that pink makes sense now... come out here and get to bed!"

No response.

"Fine. I'll come in there and get you!" Vicky moved to the closet door and flung it open.

There was no one inside, just numerous pairs of jeans and pink shirts. "What the?" Vicky looked around, shifting the clothes on the hangers as she did. "This is ridiculous. Come out!"

Again, no response.

It was then that Vicky felt a cold gust from above her. She looked up to find an attic door, hanging down ever so slightly. Pulling it; along with the step ladder, down, she saw that the light in the attic was on and that there was definitely a cold breeze coming in from somewhere up there.

"This is above and beyond the call of duty for a babysitter... and especially for me!" upon reaching the top of the ladder, she climbed into the attic space and looked around. There were several boxes marked 'Christmas' or 'Holiday' and the attic was dusty. Very dusty.

"Atchoo!" Vicky blushed at her own sneeze. If she thought her own sneezes sounded cute... the Twerp would never let her live it down... "Are you up here?!"

"Oh crap..." the voice came from further in the attic, yet it sounded... muffled?

"Thought so." Vicky looked to where the sound came from, one of the skylights was open, which also explained the cold air coming in. Vicky clambered over the various boxes and bins and over to the window. "Get in here!"

"Go away... can't I have some peace? Just for a little while?"

Timmy was answered by Vicky climbing through the skylight and onto the roof. "Where are you?!"

Timmy sighed in annoyance and defeat. "Up here..."

Vicky turned around but crouched when she almost lost her balance.

"Careful..." Timmy rolled his eyes at her lack of carefulness while being on a rooftop. "Last thing I want is for you to get hurt..."

"Huh?" Vicky looked at him, clearly confused at his almost-caring remark.

"...So you could blame your getting hurt on me... not... nevermind..." crushing on Trixie was easy, she always seemed to be so far away; an unattainable goal... Vicky... she was different. Certainly unattainable, but she was closer. He knew her, to an extent anyway, and she knew him. More than he would've liked.

_Both POVs..._

"What are you even doing up here?" she was right in front of his face now as they both straddled the roof of the house, causing Timmy to jump back in surprise. "What? I'm not _that_ scary."

"_Actually, that's exactly the problem..." _"I- was just... surprised! That's all... Anyway... I was... stargazing, I guess."

Vicky made a noise that sounded of disbelief. "Since when do you stargaze?"

"Well... not often... I don't really get the chance to, since either you or my parents are here, and I can obviously only do it at night..."

"Obviously. I don't see a telescope though..." Vicky looked around, then craned her neck to see if she could get a look behind him.

"Don't got one." Timmy returned his attention toward the heavens. "Y'know..."

"Hm?" Vicky hadn't turned her attention from Timmy.

"The first few times I came up here, I was scared. Afraid of heights, y'know? And looking up when you're dizzy from it? A hundred times worse. Thought I'd fall the first few times, but I didn't."

"You were afraid of heights?"

"Still am." Timmy continued to look up, almost as if he was in a trance. "I don't think you ever really conquer your fears... just get the courage to deal with them... but they're always there..." he trailed off, the barest hints of a smile tugging at his lips. Vicky looked up at the stars as well now. "You can't see many of them when you're close to the city; the stars, I mean. Even around here, you can't see too many of them; all the lights from the street lamps, headlights from cars, billboards... they drown out the starlight with their own garish luminescence. It's only when you're away from the cities, in the wilderness... or when there's a blackout that you can see them. There are so many of them out there... I wish I could show you..."

Vicky lowered her gaze back to being level with Timmy's. He looked at her after a second, realizing his mistake and blushing. "That- that came out wrong..."

"Hmph. So why do you come up here and look at the stars? I know you never used to do that."

"How do you know? Did you know my closet led up to the attic? Did you know we had an attic? Or skylights for that matter?"

"No. But I know you, better than you'd like I'd wager. So why the sudden stargazing habit? I know you started recently, couldn't have been more than a year ago that you started."

"Hm... last year, right around summertime. Things have been... tough recently. Tests, exams, AJ going to college across the country, Chester moving in with his mom in Washington since his dad died..."

"Trixie kicking you to the curb."

"Of course you'd know about that..."

"She let everyone who was anyone know. You lasted one week, two days, three hours and twenty-eight minutes, according to her profile."

Timmy sighed sadly. "Yeah..." Timmy returned his gaze toward the stars. "Anyway, I was kinda depressed, so I came up here one day-"

"You were gonna jump off the roof."

"No... why would you immediately jump to that?"

"I dunno, you seem the type."

"I seem like the type of person who would attempt suicide?"

"Yep."

"...I actually don't have a proper response for that. But no, I had heard that looking at the stars can be helpful for calming down, so I thought I'd try it. Now everytime I get stressed out or depressed, I come up here for a while... sometimes I just come up here because I can't sleep..."

"You know any constellations?"

"Heh... just a couple... it's never been about learning or science. I just look at them because... I don't know, they give me hope maybe? Or maybe it's like I said, it's calming to just look at the stars?"

"Well..." Vicky scooted closer to Timmy.

"W-what are you doing?" Timmy scooted away from her.

"It's frickin' October! I'm cold up here!" she scooted closer and grabbed the blanket he had wrapped around himself, then pulled him closer; blanket and all. Satisfied, she wrapped the blanket around herself, making sure to leave some for Timmy, but only if he sat right next to her.

Naturally, he opted for freezing to death; untangling himself from the blanket and sitting a foot away, which Vicky took notice of immediately. "What are you doing _now_?"

"Just... y'know... sitting here... shivering." he was only wearing a t-shirt and shorts now.

"You do know that I'm attempting to share a blanket with you, right?"

"I'm... aware, yes." Timmy continued shivering as a cold gust blew over the house.

"You're gonna get sick if you keep that up..."

"Think I could have my blanket back then?"

"Then I'd get cold and possibly sick. You don't want that, do you? Besides, the blanket is more than big enough for two people to share."

"..."

"Unless you don't want to share it with your attractive babysitter... most guys would kill for this chance..."

"I'm not most guys." Timmy shot back defiantly.

"You didn't deny that I said I was attractive..."

"..."

"I wonder why?"

"..."

"Cat got your tongue?"

Timmy grumbled something into his forearm which now rested on his knees, both of which were up near his chest to try and keep warm.

"Hm? Couldn't hear you over all that mumbling..."

"I said that I'm trying not to get close to you..."

"Oh? Why's that?" Vicky scooted closer.

Timmy moved farther away in response. "Because I don't want to."

"Am I that bad?" Vicky moved even closer.

"In a word, yes." Timmy moved away until he was pushing up against the house's chimney.

"If I was so bad, you wouldn't have told me you were afraid of heights, or that you like to stargaze, and you definitely wouldn't have let me take this." she fluttered the blanket at him as she moved closer.

"It was a weak moment on my part. Better to have someone to talk to than no one at all..." he looked over at Vicky only to come face to face with her. "Gah! You want me to fall off the roof?!" Timmy wobbled slightly, but froze when Vicky wrapped the blanket(and her arm) around him and leaned into him, pushing him up against the chimney.

"No, I don't. Who would pay me if you got hurt? Your parents certainly wouldn't."

Timmy looked over at Vicky, who was now looking at the city in the distance... or was she looking at the stars? He couldn't tell. "What do you want?"

"Huh?" Vicky was shaken from her own stargazing and looked at Timmy, again, her face was far closer than he would've liked. "What do you mean 'What do I want'?"

"You torture me, make my parents think I'm terrible, make fun of me for Trixie dumping me, force me to do your homework, steal my candy on Halloween, keep me from seeing my friends... Then you turn right around and save me from Francis, help me with my homework, let me go without doing chores, that... time in the avalanche..."

"We said we weren't going to bring that up again..." Vicky spoke dangerously.

"Whatever... the point is... I can't figure you out... even more so lately..."

"What do you mean by that? Lately? I haven't changed... if anything, you're the one who's- You've changed." realization began to worm it's way through all of Vicky's thoughts. "The reason you haven't pushed me away as much... Do you... like me?"

Timmy shifted uncomfortably in her grasp.

"Twe- ...Timmy?" she looked at him.

He looked away, finding the chimney to his right far more interesting.

"Hey." she poked his side, causing him to jump slightly.

"Since when do you call me Timmy?" his gaze didn't leave the eroded bricks of the chimney.

"Answer my question first."

"I'd prefer you just forget about it."

"Well too bad. Tell me. Now." she tried intimidating him into confessing, making him press even harder into the chimney and clam up. _"Maybe that tactic isn't wise here..." _"I won't make fun of you."

No response once again.

"I promise." _"Little as I'm sure that means..."_

"I don't know. Not for sure..."

"How can you not be sure if you like someone? You either do, or you don't."

"Yeah, if only it was that easy with you." Timmy laughed humorlessly as he looked back to the stars. "Liking you is like... it's like liking being too close to the sun. Or handling poisonous snakes... Or torture. You're a sadist. I'm not a masochist."

"Yet you still put up with me. You've had your chances to get rid of me, the avalanche, Ricky, the time I almost got crushed by the steamroller. If I'm so bad for you, why save me?"

A single drop of rain fell onto Timmy's forehead. "It's starting to rain..."

"Stop being so evasive! I want answers and I want 'em now!"

Timmy jumped slightly, but didn't shrink back this time. "You think I'm the type of person that would let harm come to another? When a disaster happens and you see all those people running away, trampling each other so they can save themselves, you know where I am?"

"Nowhere near the disaster?"

"Hah. Under normal circumstances, yes. But if I'm right there, in the heat of the moment, I try my best to help people, it's what more people need to do."

"You didn't just save me because I'm a fellow human being-"

"I did at first." he interrupted her. _"You want answers, yet you keep interrupting me and asking more questions!" _"The avalanche, the car that almost hit you-"

She had forgotten about that. It was last year, some drunk driver nearly creamed her around Christmastime in the Dimmsdale Mall parking lot, she was alone that day, but Timmy's parents had driven him up there to help with getting their Christmas tree.

He noticed it before she did and yelled to her, but she was listening to music that was far too loud and couldn't hear him. Thinking quickly(and possibly recklessly) Timmy ran at her and tackled her, the car missing them both by mere inches and crashing into several parked cars.

He asked if she was okay.

She yelled at him for getting slush all over her coat.

Ha offered his own, just her size, despite being a boys coat.

She greedily snatched it away and threw her now soggy coat at him. "Thanks Twerp."

He watched her walk off. "I don't know what I expected..."

Another droplet fell, landing on Vicky's head and stirring her from her thoughts. "Were you... saying something? I wasn't listening... er... sorry."

Timmy sighed. "You know how hormones are... I wanted to get your attention, give you some reason to like me... I found myself hoping that I'd get the chance again; the chance to save you from... something..."

"You were hoping I'd get hurt?!" Vicky narrowed her eyes at him.

"No! Not... not like that... I already told you I don't want any harm to come to you... I- I wouldn't have let you get hurt... I just hoped I'd get the chance to keep you from getting hurt..."

"I don't need a knight in shining armor, Timmy. You know that's not my style."

"Didn't stop me from trying. Anyway... it doesn't really matter, we're too... different. I give, you take. I'm cold, your hot. I love, you hate. I save, you don't wanna be saved..."

"I don't need saving."

"So, when the car almost hit you, you didn't need me to save you? The steamroller almost crushed you, still didn't need me? When you were in the avalanche, you would've been fine without me? If we had never met, would your babysitting gig be as good as it is today?"

She felt a hand on her shoulder; firm, yet shaking slightly as it pushed her back, though just a little. "I-"

"Admit it. You need me just as much as I need you."

"First of all, I don't _need_ anyone but myself. Second... what do you mean you _need_ me?"

"_Damn." _That coin had two sides. He needed her because she was the catalyst that brought Cosmo and Wanda into his life. Without her, he wouldn't have them, without her, he couldn't keep them. Yet... on the other side of the coin was the growing affection he felt, it didn't belong, it was wrong to even think. But some part of him had grown attached to this self-proclaimed evil babysitter. It wasn't love, God it wasn't love... but he did like her. It could certainly become love... spending time with her everyday... "I... don't know what I'd do if you stopped being a part of my life." he practically forced the words out due to his nervousness.

Vicky waited for him to say more, but he clearly wasn't going to unless she said something in response. Sucking in a breath that was just barely shaky, she spoke. "Even... even with everything I've done, you still feel that way?"

"Wouldn't have said it if I didn't..." his cheeks turned pinker... From the cold? Or was he embarrassed?

"Then tell me. Tell me how you feel."

"What? Like... right here? On my roof?"

"Right here, right now."

The sky opened up and it began to rain heavily, though the thick blanket kept them relatively dry.

"I- I like you Vicky. I have for a while now."

"Hm... for a confession... I'd give you a B... plus. But mostly because of all that stuff you said earlier." she leaned in and her nose touched his, slightly cold and damp from the rain.

He leaned in a bit closer and brushed his lips against hers, like in the dream, but this was very,_ very_ real.

Vicky pulled back and put her index finger on his lips to silence him before he even had enough conscious thought to speak. "Don't think your first kiss will be _that_ easy. Maybe Trixie gives 'em away like candy, but with me, you'll have to earn it."

"A-alright..."

"First things first. How do you propose we get down from here?" the rain intensified slightly.

"Easy." Timmy untangled himself from the blanket and Vicky's arms, then slid down next to the open skylight. "See?"

Vicky tossed the blanket at him, hitting him in the face. "Show off. I'm doubting that little speech about being afraid of heights..." she began tentatively sliding down the roof, but the dampness caused her to slide farther than she would've liked and she kept going over the edge of the roof. "AH!" Vicky closed her eyes, waiting for the impact and possible crunching sound, but there was only the sound of the wind and rain. She opened her eyes and looked around. Timmy had caught her right hand and was holding her up.

"Yeah, first time I tried that, I over shot the window and fell into my mom's flowers... her uh... rosebushes."

Vicky looked down to see that there were, in fact, rosebushes below her. Though they were brown and skeletal. "That must've been fun."

"Oh yeah. So much fun that I just can't bear to repeat the incident." Timmy pulled her back onto the roof and into the skylight. "You okay- mmf!"

Vicky had chosen to interrupt him with her lips. Against his. She quickly pulled away and clambered over the boxes nearby, heading for the attic door. "Maybe I _do _need saving... sometimes."

Timmy gazed once more at the stars, quickly being blocked out by the rainclouds and smiled.

* * *

><p>AN: Muse is back, demanding more oneshots. We'll see.


	2. Chemistry, Alchemy, and a Date

Timmy sat in his homeroom, waiting for the rest of Friday to start.

Crocker, who was still his teacher for some ungodly reason, sat at his desk, twitching every now and again and staring at Timmy with an evil glint in his eye.

Timmy watched as Crocker mouthed the words: 'I will prove that you have fairies'.

Timmy responded by sticking his fist in the air and raising his middle finger at the teacher, causing Crocker to splutter and return his attention to the class. Luckily for Timmy, the other school staff members tended to ignore Crocker's complaints about the students; mostly because they didn't like him and thought he was crazy.

"It's Friday, Friday! Gotta get down on... Friday!" Timmy was tackled out of his chair by Tootie.

"So tackling me everyday isn't enough, you have to sing that song now too?" Timmy looked up at Tootie with a smile.

"Well... I'm only gonna do it on Friday... but now you have something else to look forward to!" Tootie got off of Timmy and offered him her hand, which he took so she could help him up.

"Turner! You can make-out with your girlfriend after class!"

"She's not my girlfriend!" "He's not my boyfriend!" the two teens exclaimed at Crocker, causing him to sit back down rather sheepishly and look at his notes for the day.

As luck would have it for Timmy; going out with Trixie had caused Tootie to give up on him. He was surprised by it at first, but grew to welcome it shortly afterward, then regretted it after Trixie dumped him. Tootie had picked up on this and reached a compromise with Timmy... Without actually consulting him about it. So every day now, she would greet him by tackling him to the floor, not caring who saw them or how much trouble it got them in. Her way of cheering him up when he was down, which was unfortunately very often as of late. The relationship was wholly platonic now and Tootie was the only friend that Timmy had left in Dimmsdale.

Tootie took her seat next to Timmy. "So what's been going on?"

"Same old, same old. Last night, my parents fed me some line about going to my Great Aunt Edna's house. Who happens to live in a day spa."

"You didn't actually believe that?"

"Of course not. I don't have a Great Aunt. They just made something up as an excuse to go to a spa."

"So Vicky had to babysit you? Why didn't you call me? We could've hung out!"

"I fell asleep." Timmy rubbed the back of his head and blushed.

"With Vicky watching you? Bullshit."

"Really, I did. She fell asleep too, I actually fell asleep leaning on the mop and only woke up because I tipped over."

"Wow. You're a klutz... Anything else happen...?" Tootie quirked an eyebrow up.

"I know that look, Tootie. What do you know?"

"Just heard a little sumthin' sumthin'... Maybe about you and... my sister?"

"Oh God. She told you?!"

"We're sisters. Are you really that surprised?"

"I suppose I shouldn't be... I just figured she'd want to keep it hush-hush..."

"So it's true then? Vicky wasn't pulling my leg?"

"Yeah..."

"Ohmygosh! That's so sweet!" Tootie scooted her desk over next to his and hugged him.

"Sweet?" Timmy looked at Tootie with disbelief. "I didn't expect that..."

"C'mon... you crushing on your babysitter? It's kinda cute! I was afraid that I would have to play matchmaker for you for a while there. I just didn't have Vicky in mind."

"Well when she came over last night, I certainly didn't plan on putting my feelings on the table like I did, but... things just turned out that way..."

"Waitwaitwait. You've been crushing on her for a while now?"

"Mmm... kinda..." Timmy didn't want to admit it, just in case he might hurt Tootie's feelings.

"Why didn't you just tell her?"

"Are... are you serious? You realize we're talking about Vicky, right? Not some secret other sister you have that I don't know about?"

"Yes. We're talking about Vicky. She's stubborn, just like you apparently. She would never, ever admit it if you asked her, but she was starting to like you too. She just figured that she was the weird one for liking you, that's why she never said anything. It's also why she was being meaner to you, or so she told me."

"You're kidding." Timmy wore a bemused smile on his face.

"Nope, she-"

"Class! Take your seats so I can take attendance!" Crocker yelled across the classroom.

Tootie rolled her eyes at their teacher, who was now little more than a joke to them. "She told me a few months back that she thought she was starting to like you. I didn't say anything because... well... Vicky is still pretty scary..."

The bell rang, indicating the end of homeroom and the official beginning of the school day. Timmy and Tootie parted ways and went to their classes, only a few of which they shared. And only one of which they could actually converse in.

"Bye Timmy! See you in Chem!" Tootie waved and zipped down the hall before Timmy could respond.

Most of the day was boring after that. He saw Trixie in algebra. She ignored him. Her friend Veronica stared at him dreamily as always. After he found out about her Tootie-like obsession, he decided that keeping his distance from her was the best option. Tootie had obsessed over him for the better part of five years, he wasn't about to deal with a repeat incident.

Timmy and Tootie met up again and partnered up in Chemistry class. Crocker also taught this class... or at least, he claimed to. If Crocker taught a class, it was almost always about magical creatures, fairies, or math; the last of which was only to spite Timmy.

"Today class, we'll be researching FAIRIES! And how to expose the fact that SOMEONE in this class has THEM!"

Timmy glanced over at Crocker, then returned his attention to the various beakers that Tootie was working with. "What are you doing?"

After AJ moved across the country, Tootie had subconsciously become the smartest person in their group(not all that hard, considering the group was comprised of Timmy and her). She could usually be found mixing various liquids in chemistry, or making observations in biology, or just being generally scientific.

"Vicky asked me to make her some battery acid." Tootie poured a strange liquid into a beaker of water.

"Why?"

"Beats me. I'm just following orders." Tootie poured the solution into a glass bottle and capped it. "All done!" she placed the bottle in her backpack, then began mixing another concoction.

"And that?" Timmy watched as Tootie poured a vial of greenish liquid into a beaker of cloudy liquid, turning it a brilliant shade of blue.

"Personal project."

"-and that class, is why you can never trust anyone who wears a PINK HAT!"

"What are you making? It's not a secret, is it?"

"No. Love potion."

Timmy looked at Tootie nervously.

"Don't give me that look. This is from back when I was still chasing after you." Tootie sprinkled some powder into the beaker from a small vial.

"Looks more like alchemy than chemistry." Timmy watched as the liquid turned a fluorescent pink.

"All done! Wanna test it out?" Tootie held it out and grinned.

"No." Timmy said flatly.

"Hm..." Tootie's previously innocent grin turned into an evil smile. "How about... them?" Tootie pointed to the other side of the classroom, at Trixie and the popular clique.

"What do you want me to do? Just hand them the beaker and be like: 'Drink this!'?"

"No! Do you have any idea what that much of this stuff will do to someone?!"

"...No."

"Me neither. Here." Tootie poured a small amount into a vial. "Just get Trixie to drink thi- Hm... on second thought... give it to Veronica... and make sure she looks at Tad... I'll give one to Trixie while she looks at Chad. Sound like a plan?"

"Why did you suddenly change your mind about me giving this to Trixie?" Timmy shook the small vial in front of his and Tootie's faces.

"Because you used to date her! When someone drinks this, they immediately fall in love with whoever they first lay eyes on... Supposedly. You really want her to fall in love with you? Or worse, think there's something up when you suddenly want to talk to her again?"

"What if she falls in love with _you_?"

"Then I'll make the antidote and give it to her! Stop poking holes in my plan and get to work!" Tootie stared at him angrily, trying to channel Vicky, evidently.

Timmy merely stared back at her with a bored expression. "That doesn't work when you do it."

"I used to have FAIRIES! But a pink-hat wearing IMP caused me to lose them!"

Given the choice between listening to Crocker and enacting Tootie's plan, Timmy made the wiser and less sane decision. "This won't poison her, right?"

"No... hopefully not..."

Timmy crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you even care? Veronica isn't your friend..."

"She's not a bad person either, I don't want to hurt her or Trixie."

"They should both be fine. Killjoy. Worst case? We make the popular kids fall in love with each other."

"Fine." Timmy looked at the vial of strange pink fluid and walked over to Veronica. "Uh... Hey there, Veronica... I... have this awesome new energy drink sample that Tootie and I have been working on! Would you mind taste testing it for me? I think it's fine, but... well, I want an outside opinion."

Veronica thought carefully about this. Timmy had never spoken to her this much in the entire time she had known of his existence, so why was he talking to her now?

Timmy looked at the vial, then at Veronica sheepishly.

"_Oh, right, he wants an answer..." _"Sure." Veronica took the vial and looked at it. "Its got a nice color..."

"Tootie's idea..." _"No way it's this easy... what was it Tootie said? 'Make sure she's facing... Tad? Or was it Chad? Does it even matter?" _He just had to make sure she wasn't facing him when she drank it.

"Fine, if I drink this little... immune-booster thing, will you leave me alone?" Timmy looked past Veronica to see Tootie giving Trixie the vial she had.

While Timmy was more of a fan of... deception; Tootie preferred a more brute force method, likely getting back at Trixie for hurting the boy she once loved. Timmy watched as Trixie drank from the vial and had her head forcibly turned by Tootie to look in his direction. She only realized her mistake as Timmy grimaced at her and moved so that Veronica was between him and Trixie. He then made the split-second(and totally not regrettable) decision to shout 'Look over there!' to Veronica, pointing in the direction of Trixie.

What happened next was... expected. At least, Timmy and Tootie expected it, even if it wasn't what they intended.

"Hey Trixie... do you wanna, like, do something later?" Veronica rubbed her shoulder nervously.

"Er... okay, sure." Trixie giggled girlishly and blushed. "I'd like that."

Timmy was trying very hard to return to his desk with Tootie... but some unknown force was keeping him rooted to the spot as his imagination took over.

"Alright, Timmy. Back to our workstation..." Tootie grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the blooming romance that had Tad and Chad dumbstruck and speechless.

After several more minutes of staring, Timmy regained enough presence of mind to turn his attention to Tootie and whatever it was she was doing. "So I guess it works..."

Tootie stopped mixing and glanced over at him, then returned to her work. "Of course it did, you think I'd make a fake love potion?"

"To be fair, things like that are usually fake. I thought you wanted to make them fall in love with Tad and Chad? Why'd you turn Trixie's head toward me?"

"Accident. Nice quick thinking on your part though, moving behind Veronica and telling her to look at Trixie. In my defense, I wasn't trying to make Trixie look at you, I just lost my temper when I thought about how she hurt you and turned her head. So, I'm sorry about that." Tootie mixed several beakers worth of liquids together, causing a small mushroom cloud to emanate from the main beaker.

"Dare I ask what sort of horrible cocktail you're making now?"

"Just the antidote." Tootie added another vials worth of some powdery substance.

"You have too much free time..."

"...Yep." Tootie began stirring the concoction.

"Y'know..." Timmy started.

Tootie stopped mixing and looked at him. "Yeah?"

"We don't..." Timmy looked over at Trixie and Veronica, who were currently looking at each other the way Tootie used to look at him. "Uh..." Timmy trailed off.

"Hey. Snap out of it!" Tootie snapped her fingers in front of Timmy's face, causing him to shake his head.

"Um... We don't _have_ to fix them..."

"What now? Yeah we do! It takes a few days for the potion to pass though a person's system, the antidote will fix it immediately."

"So... why not let it run its course?"

"You're just a perv."

"Guilty as charged."

"Hm..." Tootie looked at the now completed and very purple mixture. "It... might be interesting to see how the potion affects two people of the same gender... It only said to try using it on a boy and a girl... Alright, fine." Tootie poured the violet mixture into another bottle. "Part of being scientistic is to observe, so we'll observe."

"Scientistic?"

"There an echo in here?"

_RING_

"Class is over everyone! Get out there and find some magical creatures so I can prove I'm not CRAZY!"

The students filed out of the classroom, Timmy and Tootie being the last to leave as they watched Trixie and Veronica walk out holding hands and blushing.

"Hm... early observations indicate that the potion affects two people of the same sex in a similar way to two people of the opposite sex... Interesting... Are- are you writing this down?" Tootie looked over at Timmy.

"Hm? Oh yeah." Timmy produced a notebook from his backpack and wrote down Tootie's observation. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, normally you only use the potion on one person; generally the person you want to fall in love with you, but we used it on two people who then fell in love with each other... or are falling in love... or something... so we're like... pioneers here. We have to document any interesting developments and-"

"Can we get to lunch now?" Timmy had already packed away his notebook and now stared at Tootie.

"Oh! Yes, of course!" Tootie followed Timmy out of the classroom and down the hall to the cafeteria.

The rest of the day proceeded rather normally. Tootie and Timmy occasionally made observations concerning the blooming Veronica/Trixie romance, and many of their fellow students were left shocked and awed by the new, strange development.

On the bus ride home, Tootie looked over Timmy's notes and made her own corrections and added her own notes and observations.

"Why are we doing this?"

"Hm?" Tootie looked up from the notebook and was chewing the top of her pen. "Because I want to see how that love potion affects them?"

"So why am I involved?"

"Because you're my assistant."

"What am I getting out of this though?"

"A richer understanding of love potions and how they affect a girl on girl relationship. Learning is its own reward."

"Yeah, I'm gonna need more incentive than that." Timmy looked out the window, the conversation quickly losing his interest.

"I'm not sleeping with you."

"Always gotta make our friendship weird, don't you?"

"Hm... how about this? You help me observe the effects, I help you with dating Vicky. Sound like a good deal?" Tootie didn't bother to look up from her notes.

"Fine."

"Great! Thanks so much! First tip is free, Vicky likes spontaneity."

"Come again? Look, you're the smart one here, all these big words you use? I can barely wrap my head around them. Reminds me of AJ..."

"I mean... do something she won't expect."

"What does Vicky _not_ expect?"

"She doesn't expect you to be spontaneous." Tootie smiled slyly at him.

"Screw you." Timmy laughed and shook his head.

"Name the time and the place, I'll be there."

"You're not supposed to- to just shoot back like that so carefree!"

The bus stopped at their bus stop and they got off.

"Anyway, just... do something that says that you're in control of the relationship. She thinks that because you're her Twerp and younger than her that she has the upper hand in the relationship; prove that you can take control too. Do something... romantic, yet... unexpected... for her."

"Hm... I... Oh! I see what you mean! I've got a great idea!"

"Good! Now, to begin, we should follow Trixie and-"

"Can we start tomorrow? I have a date tonight."

"Mmm... fine. But I expect you to hold up your end of our deal." Tootie pointed her pen threateningly at Timmy.

"Have I ever shirked on a deal with my best friend?"

Tootie's cheeks turned pink. "I suppose not... See you tomorrow then." Tootie left Timmy in front of his house.

"Vicky wants... spontaneous... Unexpected..." he opened the front door and nearly walked into his mother. "Oh, Hi Mom."

"Hi Sweetie, your father and I-"

"Are going out again?"

"No! We're actually staying in tonight, but we want to have a romantic candlelit dinner!"

"So...?"

"So you get to go upstairs to your room and play video games and not come down! Isn't that exciting?!"

"Too exciting..." it would figure that the one time he wants his parents to go out, they decide to stay in. "I'll be in my room..." Timmy ascended the stairs, entered his room, and shut the door. "Hey guys..."

Cosmo and Wanda poofed from their fishbowl to greet their godchild. "Why the long face, Sport?"

"Girl trouble." Timmy laid down on his bed.

"Wanna talk about it?" Wanda levitated closer to Timmy.

"_No."_ "I like this girl, but she likes... the unexpected... I was hoping to get the chance to surprise her, but with my parents staying in for the night, I don't know how I'm gonna-"

"This... _girl_... it wouldn't happen to be Vicky, would it?"

"I plead the fifth."

"Right... well... not that you heard this from me... but this girl... she thinks you're the straight lace type, right?"

"I... guess I am..."

"So maybe you should... sneak out and see her? That'd be unexpected from someone like you."

"That's... actually a pretty good idea! Thanks Wanda!"

"No idea what you're talking about Timmy. Have fun tonight! ...Doing whatever it is that you're... nevermind." Wanda poofed herself and Cosmo away, leaving Timmy to formulate a plan.

_Later that night..._

Timmy sat up in bed and checked his alarm clock. It was just after ten at night. His parents had likely gone to sleep an hour earlier and he pretty much had the run of the house since they slept like the dead. "Well... guess it's now or never... or tomorrow night... or the next night." tossing the covers off himself and revealing that he still wore his regular attire, he jumped out of bed and slipped on his coat.

Leaving his room and tiptoeing past his parents' door, Timmy winced and froze as the floorboards right outside their room creaked under his weight. After several tense seconds, he continued walking through the hall and down the stairs, before reaching his front door and opening it, letting the cool night air into the house.

Timmy went out and shut the door behind him, locking it for good measure and inhaling, causing him to cough slightly from the cool air hitting his lungs.

The night sky was cloudless and clear, he could see the stars that had become so familiar over the past year, but he wanted to see more of them. He began walking towards his destination.

_Vicky's POV..._

"Ugh... I hate homework..." Vicky looked at her clock. It was just before ten and she had wasted most of the day doing her homework. Normally she didn't care, she'd just have Timmy do it. Much as she hated to admit it, he _was_ pretty smart. But the Turners hadn't called her over to their house, and impromptu visits might arouse suspicion.

Packing her homework away, she changed into a green tank-top and white cotton short shorts then fell into her bed. It was nice and comfy; unlike her desk.

She stretched and relaxed into the warm embrace that her bed provided. This was one of her favorite parts of the day-

_Tap_

She wasn't lazy, not really. She just enjoyed relaxing after a hard day's work... or after not working at all.

_Tap_

"I can't believe I kissed him..." Vicky buried her head in her pillow, making a sound as close to a squee as someone like Vicky could manage.

_Tap_

Not wanting to ignore the incessant tapping any longer, Vicky threw the covers off herself and went over to her window and opened it. "Who's-!"

Vicky looked down at the ground to see Timmy waving up at her. "Uh... Hi?"

Vicky leaned on her windowsill. "What are you doing? It's ten at night!" she whispered down to him.

"I um... you wanna... go somewhere?" Timmy nervously fidgeted as a cool breeze blew by.

"I wanna go to sleep..." Vicky rolled her eyes and pulled her head back in, then got dressed and put a coat on. "God forbid I get any sleep..." outwardly, she was complaining. Inwardly, she was just shy of giddy. Sure, coming to her window and throwing pebbles at it to get her attention was unbelievably cliché, but that didn't mean she didn't like cliché.

Leaving her room and walking past her parents room, not caring if they heard her or not, she descended the stairs and grabbed her keys, exited the front door and locked it, then turned around to come face to face with Timmy. "Ah-mmf!" Vicky was silenced as Timmy placed his hand over her mouth.

"Sh! You trying to wake up the whole neighborhood?!" he took his hand away as he felt Vicky's mouth open to speak.

"Why'd you sneak up on me?!" Vicky shoved him playfully.

"Wasn't trying to... Anyway, you mind driving?" Timmy gestured to Vicky's car.

"Yes." Vicky deadpanned.

"Alright, gimme the keys, I'll drive."

"You don't have a license. And you're fourteen... What's the big idea of coming over here anyway? Keeping our relationship a secret is-"

"Vicky. I know you told Tootie."

"I- that's one person. No big deal." Vicky remarked defiantly.

"Look, can you just do this for me?"

Vicky grumbled something, but got into her car, followed by Timmy. "Where are we going?"

"Dimmsdale overlook. There's something I want to show you up there."

"Are you talking about the place where all the teenagers go to make out? Seriously?"

"Is that what they do up there? Huh... That's not why we're going up there though."

"This better be worth me losing sleep, Twerp."

"I know, how tragic it would be if you didn't get enough sleep for tomorrow, considering it's Saturday." the sarcasm was evident in his voice.

He had a point there. Vicky didn't have anything to do on the weekends except watch Timmy, which she wasn't scheduled to tomorrow anyway.

Vicky responded by covering her mouth and yawning.

They arrived at the overlook to find it mostly deserted, there was only one other car in the clearing, and its occupants were nowhere to be found.

Vicky got out first and walked over to the edge. They were high above the city now, many of the building lights being out due to the late hour. "So, either you're gonna try and seduce me up here, murder me, or...?"

"C'mon Vicky, why would I wanna come up here? Think about it. We're away from all the bright lights of the city and cars... It's nice and dark..."

"You're trying to seduce me?"

"Are you capable of being seduced?" Timmy joked back.

"Not on the first date. Is that what this is? Your idea of a date?"

"Hm... yeah, I guess you could say that." Timmy took a blanket out of the backpack he wore and laid it out on the grass, then sat down and patted the spot next to him and smiled at her.

Vicky rolled her eyes at him and sat down, snuggling a bit closer as another gust blew past them. "I get it now! Your master plan is to get me sick!"

Timmy laughed and rested his head on her shoulder. "It's not a bad plan... it would mean that I'd have to take care of you, thereby giving me an excuse to spend more time with you... But no, I just wanted you to see the stars the way I did a while back... Of course, I was camping then, so there were even more then than there are now..."

"Stars?" Vicky looked at him quizzically.

Timmy nodded toward the sky, drawing Vicky's gaze upward and eliciting a surprised gasp from her.

Back on Timmy's roof, they were able to see a fair amount of stars, maybe a hundred or so, but here, where they were so far from the lights of the city that drowned out the starlight, they could see so many more, easily thousands of little twinkling lights in the sky. Finding any recognizable constellations was now a chore because of how many stars were visible. "It's beautiful..."

"_Wow. It sounds odd for her to say it like that..." _Vicky being awestruck and using the word 'beautiful' to describe the night sky? Weird."This is what I wanted to show you... you've never had the chance to just look at the stars?"

"No... my life is so busy, who has time to just sit around and look at the sky?"

Timmy felt her lean into him. "Well... aren't you glad you came out here with me then?"

"Yeah... you sure know how to make a girl feel special..." Vicky yawned. "Thanks for showing me this." Vicky leaned in and kissed Timmy on the cheek. "I think I understand what you were saying now, about the stars giving you hope. It's... hard to put it into words..."

"But you somehow feel better about... just life in general after watching them for a little while, right?"

"Hm... yeah, that's a good way to put it." Vicky stood up and stretched. "Well, it's about two A.M. now... I think it'd be best for us to get to bed..."

Timmy stood and gathered up the blanket. "Alright." he followed her to the car and got in.

The drive back to their neighborhood was quiet, likely because Vicky was tired and Timmy simply didn't have anything to say.

Vicky pulled into her driveway and began getting out of the car.

"Wait!"

"Huh?" she sat back down in the driver's seat. "What's up?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Hm..." Vicky held her chin in contemplation. "Don't think so..."

"You haven't driven me home?"

"You walked here. I'm not a taxi service." Vicky shrugged and began getting out of the car again.

Timmy quickly followed. "C'mon! I took you out on a semi-romantic date-type thing! You can't give me a ride home?"

"Nope." Vicky opened her front door and stepped inside.

Timmy stood in the driveway, looking at the still ajar front door.

Vicky poked her head out and looked at him. "That's me inviting you in, by the way."

Timmy didn't need to be told twice and followed her in, closing the front door as he did. "You sure it's okay for me to be in here this late? What if your parents-"

"Don't worry about them." Vicky walked up the stairs and out of sight.

Timmy watched where she had disappeared for several seconds, then laid down on the couch and closed his eyes.

"You comin'?"

Timmy's eyes shot open to see Vicky leaning on the stairway railing. "What?"

"You think I'd have you sleep on the couch? What kind of girlfriend would I be if I did that?"

Girlfriend. The word sounded strange when he associated it with Vicky. Even Trixie had never said she was his girlfriend, just that they were dating. It brought a strange, warm feeling to his chest, a feeling he liked.

"Are... you um... inviting me... into your room?"

"Yeah... that seems to be the case..."

"But... isn't that like... indecent? We just started this-"

"Are we really having this conversation?"

"I- ...Good point." Timmy stood up from the couch and ran up the stairs after Vicky.

"Sorry about the mess. I don't bother cleaning very often."

"_How bad could it be?"_

Vicky opened the door, revealing her room.

The sight before him was shocking, to say the least. Shocking because Timmy expected weapons, torture devices, skulls of fallen innocents... not... a normal teenage girl's room. In fact, Vicky's room was very similar in layout and furniture placement to his own. She had a bigger bed and the walls were a faded pink color, but other than that and the missing fishbowl, Vicky's room was an almost exact copy of Timmy's.

"Mess?"

Vicky gestured over to a knocked over pile of video games and magazines. "I'm lazy."

"There's no mess... not really. Your room is nice! Cleaner than mine..."

"Uh... thanks, I guess?" Vicky took off her coat and tossed it to the floor... followed by the rest of her attire, leaving her in her tank-top and shorts. When she returned her attention to Timmy, she found that he was covering his eyes and blushing red. "I'm not naked you know."

"Well... I was just trying to respect your privacy..." Timmy took his hand away from his eyes and the blush began to slowly fade. "Um... where can I sleep?" he kicked off his shoes and tossed his coat next to hers.

Vicky gestured behind herself to the bed with her thumb. "There's a bed over there."

"...Where are you gonna sleep then?"

Vicky repeated her last gesture and spoke in the exact same tone of voice. "There's a bed over there."

"You want me to sleep in your bed. With you?"

"Are you saying you _don't_ want to sleep in my bed? With me?" she was clearly mocking him now.

"I- uh..."

"Whatever." Vicky crawled into bed and under the covers. "Goodnight!" Vicky turned away from him and toward the wall.

"Um..."

Vicky began lightly snoring.

"Vicky?" Timmy took a few steps closer.

Her breathing remained steady and even.

"Vicky. I know you're pretending to be asleep, no one falls asleep that fast."

She shifted slightly, but didn't say anything.

Timmy stepped even closer so that he was at the edge of her bed. "...Vicky?"

Vicky spun around to face him and looped both arms around him, then yanked him under the covers. "If you're gonna be more spontaneous, you'll have to grow a spine. When I invite you to sleep in my bed next time, I expect you to jump at the offer."

"You- ...you talked to Tootie..."

"Yep. For the record, I did have a nice time. And you sneaking out to come and see me? Very nice. I never knew you had a bad side..."

"Stick around, you'll find I'm full of bad ideas..."

"Alright, cool your jets. I said you could sleep in my bed, I didn't say you could sleep with me like you're thinking..."

"Goodnight Vicky." he snuggled a bit closer to her.

"Goodnight Twe- ...Timmy." she placed a light kiss on his forehead, then let sleep claim her.


	3. Harmless Observation

Tootie sat on her bed and looked over her notes. It was a little before ten at night on a Friday and she was sure she had forgotten something... But she couldn't place what it was. "Grr... what am I forgetting?!"

_Tap_

Earlier that day, she and Timmy had worked together to test out a love potion on resident popular princess Trixie Tang and her blonde lieutenant, Veronica Star. The plan was for Trixie to fall in love with Chad, and Veronica to fall in love with Tad- "Or was it the other way around? ...Doesn't matter." The point was, the plan misfired slightly. Veronica looked at Trixie, and Trixie at Veronica, causing the two girls to become smitten with each other.

_Tap_

While it did help Tootie prove that the potion could bring together two people of the same sex; it didn't really provide any information other than that. She had originally intended to give the two girls the antidote, but Timmy talked her out of it with minimal effort, being a self-admitted pervert. "Hm... Oh! Now I remember! Those two didn't feel any sort of romantic feelings for each other before they drank the potion, so when they drank it, they became really nervous! That's what I forgot to write down!" True, it didn't seem important to most people, but Tootie enjoyed testing the limits and effects of the potions she brewed. To her, this was a big deal.

_Tap_

"Now, I just need to figure out where they tend to go on the weekend and how to tail them without being seen... Hm... I also have to compensate for Timmy assisting me and-"

_TAP_

Tootie sighed loudly and walked over to her window and lifted it open. "Vicky's room is on the other side Timmy..." Tootie had already known it was Timmy making those tapping sounds on her window, she had just hoped that he'd get the hint and try the other window on his own.

"Oh... Thanks, Tootie!"

"Mm-hm." she watched as Timmy ran to the other side of the house, then closed her window once he was out of sight. "Figures. Now that we're _just_ friends, he's acting all romantic... except it's toward Vicky!" It didn't really bother her that Timmy was dating Vicky. She already told him that she thought it was great. It just really _really_ caught her off guard. Vicky admitting to her that she kinda liked him, then yesterday telling Tootie that Timmy admitted his feelings to her. She was happy for her sister and ex-crush. Timmy especially, what with his two best friends packing up and moving away, he was becoming really depressed, even if he would never admit it to anyone.

Tootie laid down on her bed, ready for sleep at last; she heard Vicky grumbling from her room. "Looks like he woke her up. Hope she doesn't kill him." Tootie giggled and closed her eyes, letting sleep take her after a few minutes.

_The next day..._

Tootie sat up and stretched. Her alarm clock read ten-forty. _"Good. That'll give Timmy plenty of time to sleep in, so he can't complain." _Tootie grabbed some clothes and went to take a shower, then gathered up her notes and backpack and knocked on Vicky's door. "Vicky? Can you give me a ride to Timmy's house? We have a project to work on."

Tootie heard an annoyed sounding groan from the other side of the door, then grumbling, followed by shuffling footsteps and the door unlocking. What greeted her on the other side was not Vicky, however.

It was Timmy. "Oh. Hey Tootie."

"Wha? Why are you-? You slept over?" Tootie looked past Timmy and into her sister's room. Vicky was lying on the bed, leaning on her elbow and looking at Tootie. "...What else did you do?" a sly smirk worked its way across Tootie's face.

"N-nothing! I just slept with her!" Timmy held up his hands in defense.

Tootie's smirk broke into a full-blown smile.

"...Not like that..." Timmy spoke tiredly.

"Hope you weren't too _hard_ on him sis!"

"Keep your perverted thoughts to yourself..." Vicky waved Tootie away and laid back down.

"At any rate... I have to borrow your boyfriend for a school project, hope you don't mind."

"Fine, but I'm not giving you a ride anywhere, you lost that privilege."

"I have to go home and change first." Timmy grabbed his coat and shoes.

"No need! I happen to be prepared for this situation!" Tootie ran down the hall and into her room, followed very slowly and cautiously by Timmy.

Sticking his head in the doorway to her room, he spoke: "I'm not wearing your clothes, Tootie."

"Who said anything about _my_ clothes?" Tootie came out of her closet holding a pink shirt and blue jeans.

"...Why do you have these?" Timmy pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I... appropriated them from your house back when I had a crush on you... Er... sorry."

"I don't know why I'm surprised..." Timmy took the clothes and went to the bathroom to change.

Tootie left her room and returned to her sister's room. "So?"

"So what?" Vicky spoke in a voice muffled from being under several blankets.

"You guys go on a little date?"

"He took me stargazing."

"And...?"

"And what?"

"Was it nice? Did you enjoy it? Did he go in for a kiss?"

"Yes, yes, no."

"Aww! Did you intimidate him?"

"I didn't do anything. It was just a mildly romantic night under the stars." Vicky threw the blanket off herself. "Why are you borrowing him exactly?"

"Told you, school project. We're observing the effects of a love potion on our fellow classmates."

"You're serious?"

"Yup. Should be fun."

"Why's that? Who did you use it on?"

"Trixie and Veronica." Tootie smirked at Vicky.

"That's just evil." Vicky shook her head.

"I know. But look at my role model."

"Can't argue that."

"You sure you can't give us a ride?"

Vicky sighed at her sister. "Fine." she stood up and put the clothes she had worn the night before back on. "This time."

Timmy entered the room now. "All set?"

"Yeah! I got us a ride too!"

"Oh? Thanks Vicky."

"Mm."

"Hey! What about me?"

"I'm driving you two scientists around. Sounds like I'm doing most of the work. C'mon." Vicky led the two teens out of the house and to her car. "Where are we going anyway?"

Tootie got in the front seat with Vicky, while Timmy got in the back, much as he didn't want to. "I say... the Mall. That's where those two are most likely going to be; either shopping, or on a date."

Vicky pulled out of the driveway and began the short drive to the mall. "How did you two even get this to work? Were they really gullible enough to drink some strange liquid that Tootie mixed up?"

"Not exactly. A couple of creative lies in chemistry class were in order..." Timmy spoke up. "Your sister nearly made Trixie fall in love with me..."

Vicky narrowed her eyes at Tootie.

"What? I said I was sorry! Besides, you mean she almost fell _back_ in love with you."

"No, I don't. What Trixie and I had... whatever it was, it wasn't love."

"And what about what Vicky and you have?"

"What about it?" Vicky spoke up. "I don't see what Timmy and I have to do with-"

"Are you two in love?" Tootie smirked at her sister.

Vicky and Timmy both blushed red. "Tootie, another comment like that and you can get out of the car."

Tootie fell silent after that, knowing that that wasn't an idle threat.

A few minutes later, they had arrived at the mall and Tootie got out of the car, Timmy attempted to follow, though he had to climb into the front seat from the back. He had made it into the front only to be stopped by Vicky's hand on his shoulder. "Make sure she doesn't get into any trouble."

"Sure, no problem."

"Thanks." Vicky kissed him on the cheek before releasing his shoulder and allowing him to get out of the car. "Call me later if you guys need to be picked up."

"Okay, see you later." he watched Vicky drive off before walking over to Tootie, who was near the mall entrance. "Ready to get started?"

"What exactly did you two do? Why is Vicky acting so... not Icky?"

"We didn't 'do' anything. I took her out on a quick little date, then she refused to take me home, so I had to sleep over. How was I supposed to know she'd be so nice? I honestly expected her to be a bit more violent or possessive, but... she's actually pretty normal."

"'Normal' and 'Vicky' don't sound like they should go in the same sentence. You didn't slip her a little bit of leftover love potion, did you?"

"No, I didn't need to. Whatever crazy thing caused us to enter into this relationship, whether it was planetary alignment, or some weird spell, or just dumb luck; it doesn't matter to me. She's happy, and I'm happy."

"Spoken like a true sappy romantic."

"Can we just get this over with?!"

"Lets."

The two entered the mall and wandered through a clothing store until coming to the actual mall entrance. "Any idea where they might be?"

"Oh, they're not here yet." Tootie remarked nonchalantly as she walked in the direction toward the food court.

"Then why exactly are we here so early? I thought they'd be here?"

"You kidding? Trixie and Veronica both like to sleep in, they probably won't be here until noon at the earliest."

"...I'm a little disturbed that you know their sleeping schedules."

"Know yours too. But that's because of the crush I had on you."

"And as for their schedules?"

"Well, Trixie and Veronica were my biggest competitors for your heart in middle school. It was important for me to know when they got up so that I could get to you first."

"I'd be impressed if I wasn't so creeped out. So if they aren't here yet, where do you plan on going and what do you plan on doing until they do get here?"

"Well I figured we could go to the food court since I haven't had breakfast yet; and I assume you haven't either?"

"No. I was sleeping comfortably until you woke me up."

"You promised you'd help me with my project."

"I'm here, aren't I?"

"So let's get breakfast!" Tootie said excitedly as they came upon a Nasty Burger. "Why do we always find ourselves eating at this place? The name itself should drive us away."

"Because as bad as this food is for us, it's also frickin' amazingly delicious."

Tootie and Timmy ordered several breakfast sandwiches for themselves and sat down across from each other at one of the tables in the food court. "So." Timmy began. "How are things going?"

"Well... we still have a couple days before the potion wears off, and I don't know what'll happen once it does... Maybe those two will like each other for real? It would prove the effectiveness of the potion... But I hope there aren't any side effects from the two of them being given separate doses... This is all new to me and-"

"I meant life in general. We don't always have to talk about your weird experiments."

"Oh. Um... Fine. I'm doing pretty well in all the classes we don't share, and you know I'm doing well in the classes we _do_ share..."

"Haven't heard from Chester or AJ?" Timmy's voice took on a much more somber tone now.

"No... You?" the mentioning of their friends even caused Tootie's normally upbeat attitude to fade.

"Nope. I guess... this is just the way things are. Friendships aren't meant to last forever. People grow apart, and sometimes they don't feel like trying to make it keep going..."

"That's not gonna happen to us, is it?"

"No... Of course not! You're my best friend, and you always will be. Wherever you and Vicky go, I go. Simple as that."

Tootie looked at Timmy and smiled warmly. She remembered why she had the crush on him all those years ago as her heart let out a tiny flutter. The barest hint that showed that her affections for him, though waning, were still there. But she knew better than to act on them now. Vicky and Timmy were happy together, she wasn't going to ruin that and risk the relationship with Timmy or her sister. "I'm glad." she looked past Timmy now to see Tad and Chad walking their way. "Darn it! We need disguises, quick!"

"What? Why?" Timmy turned around as he followed Tootie's gaze to see the two original targets of their little prank. "Why do we need disguises? It's just Tad and Chad..."

"But they're gonna get suspicious if they see us following their girlfriends around!"

"So what do you propose we do?!" Timmy was panicking now, but only because Tootie was, he was not actually worried about being discovered too much, since it meant he could go home... or better yet, back to Vicky and Tootie's house.

"Gimme your hat!"

"My hat?" before he could act, Tootie snatched his favorite pink hat off his head and put it on hers, then took off her purple tortoiseshell glasses and put them on Timmy's face, she took an extra moment to adjust them before giving a look of approval and sitting back down in her seat calmly. "This'll never work!"

"Shush!" Tootie went back to eating her breakfast sandwich and pretended Tad and Chad simply weren't there, an action that was quickly mimicked by Timmy.

The two rich snobs didn't even take notice of their classmates' presence and simply continued walking deeper into the mall.

"I can not believe that worked." Timmy shook his head and took off Tootie's glasses.

"Shows you how smart they are. Here." Tootie returned Timmy's hat as he returned her glasses. "You look weird with girls' glasses."

"You look weird in a pink hat."

"I think you mean: Cute."

"No, weird is what I meant."

"Hey!" Tootie laughed and threw her sandwich at Timmy, which he caught.

"Thanks, I'm still pretty hungry." Timmy began eating Tootie's sandwich.

"I already bit into that!"

"Oh no! Now I'm gonna get cooties!" Timmy took another bite of the sandwich.

"But! That's like us kissing or something!"

"It really isn't."

"Well give it back then- Oh! Look who finally showed up!" Tootie pointed toward the store they had come in from at Trixie and Veronica, who were now holding hands again. "I told you they'd show up."

"That's nice." Timmy continued eating the sandwich.

"Hey! You were more interested yesterday!"

"I'm still interested, but the brain doesn't think very well without energy, so if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna finish eating your sandwich."

"..."

"Yes, that came out sounding kinda wrong."

"Well hurry up! We don't want to lose them!" Tootie stood up from the table and paced back and forth impatiently.

"You gonna eat your hash browns?"

"Argh! We don't have time for this!" Tootie yanked Timmy out of his seat and he grabbed his orange juice as she did. "You can eat another time, we have to follow those two!"

"You're starting to act like Vicky in your old age..."

"I'm gonna hit you..." Tootie pulled him along through the mall, holding his hand rather tightly as she did.

The action would've normally made Timmy a bit flustered, but his burgeoning relationship with Vicky and near-kinship with Tootie pushed such feelings away.

"Ugh! We lost them!"

"Why not try some of the stores they go to?"

"Which stores would those be?"

"I dunno." Timmy shrugged as he sipped his juice. "I thought you knew everything there was to know about these two?"

"No, I know everything about you. There's a difference."

"Can't we just give up and call it a day?"

"You just wanna cuddle with my sister!"

"...Well, yeah... Isn't it obvious?"

"You agreed to help, we're not leaving until we see the full range of effects that the potion has on these two, so-" Tootie gasped. "Get down!" she shoved Timmy into one of the large planters in the mall and dove in after him.

"Tootie, what was tha- Mmph..." Timmy stopped as Tootie's hand fell over his mouth to silence him.

"Shush!"

Timmy moved her hand away and crawled over to the edge of the planter to look between the large leaves of whatever weird tropical plant he found himself next to. Walking by were Trixie and Veronica, once again holding hands, once again looking at each other the way Tootie used to look at him. "How did they get behind us- Oof!"

"Shh! You're gonna get us spotted!" Tootie had decided to take up residence on Timmy's back as he laid on his stomach watching their two targets.

"What are you doing?" Timmy glanced to his left, Tootie was resting her head on his shoulder, trying to get a better look at her chemistry project gone awry.

"Trying to observe!"

"Get off."

"Pfft. Like we've never been this close before." Tootie pressed her cheek against Timmy's, mostly because she knew it would cause him to get all the more flustered.

"You're so weird." Timmy chuckled, definitely not the response she expected.

"So like, what do you wanna do next?"

The brunet and his raven-haired companion turned their attention to Veronica and Trixie. Both were carrying large shopping bags from some clothing store they must've gone to.

"Hm... It seems the love potion didn't affect their behavior when it comes to shopping... unless they bought things for each other... Still, it seems they're both still shopaholics and- Are you writing this down?" Tootie gave Timmy a stern look.

"No."

"Why not?!" she whispered loudly. "We need to keep a record of our observations!"

"I'll remember it, don't worry."

"You'd better... Anyway, they're still acting a bit shy around each other, but they seem to be in the actual 'dating' phase of their relationship. Holding hands, exchanging nervous glances... Which one would you say is the... Um... Which one wears the pants?"

"They're both wearing skirts."

Tootie butted the side of her head into Timmy's. "Smartass. I know they're both wearing skirts, I mean, in your opinion, which one of them is the 'boy'?"

"Hm..." Timmy positioned his arms underneath his chin to act as a crude pillow.

"Well said."

"Gimme a few minutes."

Tootie huffed impatiently, but fell silent.

Their two targets were currently sitting at one of the mall's many benches and gossiping about the various boys in their classes. Odd behavior, considering the fact that the only thing they should be particularly interested in is each other. "You think the potion is wearing off?" Timmy glanced over at Tootie.

"Maybe... But it shouldn't be. Even though the doses we gave them were pretty small, it should last-"

Trixie leaned over and kissed Veronica on the cheek, eliciting a squeak of surprise from the blonde and a blush from both parties.

"I'm gonna go ahead and say Veronica wears the pants." Timmy spoke up now.

"Agreed. Trixie's bold, but she seems to follow Veronica's lead... Oh! I can't believe we missed this!"

"What?" Timmy asked.

"They've reversed their roles! Remember how Veronica used to listen to Trixie all the time? Now Trixie is following Veronica around like she's the leader, or y'know, the boy."

Trixie and Veronica stood up from the bench and began walking deeper into the mall.

"They're on the move! C'mon!" Tootie looped her arms around Timmy's neck and squeezed his midsection with her knees.

"I look like a horse to you?"

"Giddyup!" Tootie repeated her previous action as Timmy crawled out of the planter, still carrying his friend on his back. He then got out and stood up, before unceremoniously dropping her on the floor, causing her to land on her rear end. "Ow..."

"I'm not your faithful steed." he offered her his hand to help her up.

"Dick." Tootie accepted his hand and rubbed her sore behind.

"Guilty as charged."

This 'Harmless Observation', as Tootie called it, continued for the better part of three hours as Timmy and Tootie followed the blonde and her new girlfriend around the mall, going to various shops and kiosks. They had almost gotten caught a few times, which usually ended with Tootie pushing him into a planter and landing on top of him, or into a photo booth, or even once into the women's bathroom, much to his chagrin.

"I thought you wanted to be discreet?" Timmy asked as he and Tootie hid behind a table that she had recently flipped over.

"We are being discre-"

"No we aren't! How is flipping a table discreet?!"

"Yelling isn't gonna help..." Tootie looked over the table to see Trixie and Veronica talking to Tad and Chad. "Ooh! Look at this!"

Timmy peeked over the table at the four rich teens. "So? They're talking. Pretty uninteresting if you ask me..."

"But Tad just asked Trixie why she suddenly likes girls!"

"And?" Timmy was now reclining behind the table with his arms behind his head.

"How can you be so uninterested in all this? I thought two girls going at it was every male's fantasy?"

"First of all, they aren't 'going at' anything. Second, I have a girlfriend. Third, even if I didn't, there's no room in there for me. Generally when two girls like each other, it's because they don't want a guy..." Timmy rubbed his chin in thought. "Speaking of which... Anybody special in your life?"

"What do you mean?" Tootie slumped back down behind the table.

"I mean... Anybody you like? Besides me, of course."

"Nope. I'm fine though, if I ever need someone like that, I'll just tie you to a bed and do stuff to you."

"Once again blurring the line between friendship and creepy stalker..."

"I wouldn't be me otherwise. You think what you and Vicky have is love?"

"I thought we agreed not to talk about this?" Timmy's face had a light dusting of pink on it.

"I didn't agree to anything. I merely stopped talking about it around Vicky to avoid getting kicked out of the car. So...?"

"Can we _not_ do this?"

"Nah, we got time while those four talk about how rich they are, plus you aren't even interested in our little project, so let's talk about you and my sister."

"Look, I don't know what Vicky and I have, okay? It's a bit too early to call it love, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I like her. She was being... well, her normal self around me just the other day. Then we have a short chat about... some stuff... on my roof and we're suddenly together. I still half-expect to wake up in my bed every now and then..."

Tootie leaned over and pinched Timmy's arm.

"Ouch!"

"That's for dropping me, and confirms that you're not dreaming."

"Thanks. I think."

"Anytime. So, was I right? About Vicky and how she appreciates spontaneity?"

"Yeah, you were right."

"Score! More proof that I'm the perceptive one in our group!"

"Like, what are you two doing?"

Timmy and Tootie froze as they heard Veronica's California girl accent.

Tootie, being the smart one in the group spoke up first, and immediately proved that she was undeserving of the title. "We're... on a date?" she heard Timmy slap his hand over his face.

"Oh. Well... good for you two I guess? I like, always knew you two would make a good couple."

"Veronicaaa! C'mon, they have a photo booth!" Timmy and Tootie heard Trixie call from the other side of the table they were still hiding behind.

"Coming Trixie! See you two later!"

Timmy listened closely as Veronica walked away.

"Who were you talking to?"

"Oh, just Timmy and Tootie, I guess they finally decided to give in to all that tension between them and go out, it's kinda cute actually..."

"It must be our love doing that! It's infectious!" the two girls walked away and Timmy narrowed his eyes at Tootie.

"What?" she looked at him sheepishly.

"You just told the two biggest gossip queens of our school that you and I are dating. What part of that seemed like a good idea?!"

"Oh calm down. Most everyone already thinks we're an item anyway. It's not like we gave them a huge piece of gossip..."

"Except you just confirmed it! Even though it isn't true!"

"I don't see what the big deal is..."

"You aren't dating Vicky!"

"Well of course not. That would be... just... ew." Tootie gagged for emphasis.

"You realize that if this information somehow finds its way back to her, I'm basically dead, right?"

"You'll be fine. I'll clear up any misunderstandings that happen to find their way to her, don't worry."

Timmy sighed as he stood up and placed the knocked over table back on its legs. "I'm having trouble deciding if I should thank you for clearing things up, or if I should just leave before you get us into further trouble..."

"Need I remind you that you said you'd help me?"

"I know..."

"Would a hug make you feel better?"

"Not really-"

"Too bad!" Tootie sprang forward and wrapped her arms around Timmy. "You know I give the best hugs!"

Timmy groaned at first, then returned the hug when it seemed like she wouldn't let go unless he did. He'd never be able to figure this girl out; usually, she acted like his best friend, he was a lot closer to her than he had ever been with Chester and AJ, but there were little moments every now and then where she acted like a bit more than _just_ a friend. She was sometimes weird stalker that wanted to molest him Tootie, most times regular best friend Tootie, other times she acted like his sister, and finally she acted like they were either together, or friends with benefits, though he had never taken her up on her offers, thinking they were likely made in jest. His thought process was interrupted as he felt her hand slip lower. "Tootie."

Tootie ignored him and nuzzled her face into his neck.

"Tootie, get your hand off my ass."

"Too much?"

"Too much."

"'Kay!" Tootie pulled away to show she was sporting an evil grin. "Just wanted to know what the limit was."

"Hand on my ass isn't okay."

_That_ was how Tootie loved pushing the envelope. Blurring the line between friendship and... something else... was her specialty. That and being smart.

"You're no fun." Tootie pouted.

"If I'm no fun, then you're too much fun."

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"Hey, do you two nerds know what's going on with Trixie and Veronica?"

Tootie spun around to see Tad and Chad, they both looked a bit annoyed, but that wasn't a surprise. The two rich teens never liked Timmy and his group of friends. While Trixie and Veronica at least feigned being nice, Tad and Chad always preferred to be unpleasant and insult them at every chance they got.

"Why do you assume we know?" Tootie asked warily.

"Because Chad said he saw you two give Trixie and Veronica some weird pink stuff shortly before they started acting... Different. And Veronica was just over here taking to you two like you're old friends. Sounds like you two must've had something to do with their... behavior."

"It was an energy booster, last I checked, those don't make two normally straight girls into lesbians, nor do they affect their moods to the point of wanting to be friends with people that they normally don't associate with."

"Well neither of them has ever had any tendencies like this before, so it must be something that you two losers did."

Timmy felt himself quickly growing bored with this conversation as his imagination took over. He imagined Tad and Chad talking at the same time, and mirroring each others actions.

"Right, Timmy?"

"Huh? Sorry, I was... somewhere else."

"I was saying that we have no idea why Trixie and Veronica are suddenly super in to each other. Right?"

"That's right. I can assure you that what Tootie gave them was just an energy booster, as she said."

"Listen you!" Tad stepped forward toward Tootie, and Timmy stepped in front of her, his brotherly instinct kicking into gear.

"I suggest you watch your tone and actions." Timmy knew he wasn't exactly well-built, nor was he intimidating in the least, but he wasn't about to allow either of these two near Tootie.

"Protecting your _girlfriend_? Always knew you two losers would end up together."

"I don't see how my relationship with Tootie comes into play here, so unless you've got something to say, piss off."

"We both know you had something to do with the way Trixie and Veronica are acting! You two had better stay away from them if you know what's good for you!" the duo glared at Timmy and Tootie for several more seconds before walking off into the mall.

"I could've handled them..."

"I know you could." Timmy turned around to face Tootie. "But I told Vicky I'd make sure you stayed out of trouble. I'm sure he wouldn't have actually hit you, but... when he suddenly stepped toward you like that... I guess I just had a bit of a knee-jerk reaction."

"Aw... you feeling protective for your lil' sis?" Tootie's voice took on a more child-like quality. "Would it be wrong for me to call you Onii-chan?"

"With our relationship and your advances? Very."

"Oh well, a girl can dream. Now let's go!" Tootie grabbed Timmy's hand and began pulling him along.

"Where are we going _now_?"

"We need to continue observing our experiment, and I have a feeling that I know where they'll be going next!"

Tootie led Timmy ever deeper into the mall until they at last came upon an area that wasn't unlike the food court with many different tables to sit at, but no fast food restaurants to order from. "So... where are Trixie and Veronica?"

Tootie didn't respond, but pointed to a nearby photo booth.

"You sure?"

Both suddenly heard very girlish giggling coming from the booth.

"It's like you have some kind of radar for these two."

"Sit down over here!" Tootie yanked him over to a bench and pushed him into it, then sat down sideways in his lap.

"No."

"Just go with it!"

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Because you're just giving those two more ammo, and making me dig my grave even deeper!" Timmy lifted Tootie up and repositioned her so she was sitting next to him. "Why do you insist on being even _more_... insane than usual?"

"We need to avoid blowing our cover! If we look like just another couple, those two will think that their infectious love is in the air, and they won't suspect that we had something to do with them getting together. Make sense?"

Timmy sighed and put his arm around Tootie's shoulders. "I'm beginning to think you're playing some kind of game with me here..."

"Nope. Just having a little fun at your expense." Tootie snuggled closer to Timmy in his grip. "I know it seems like I'm... well, doing what you said it seems like I'm doing, but I have no intention of screwing things up between you and Vicky, I promise."

"Then what is it?"

"Hm?"

"We know each other well enough by now, so don't try and tell me something isn't bothering you."

"I guess... it's everything. I know I said I'd do my best to help you get through Chester and AJ leaving... but when we talked today... it made me remember how things used to be, when they were still around. Things were so much easier back then. All we worried about was doing good on tests, avoiding Francis, dealing with Crocker... Now though, now we worry about whether we'll ever see each other again."

"I told you, I'm not going anywhere-"

"I know. I'm just trying to say..." Tootie looked up at Timmy, almost like she was afraid to. "I'm not always the bubbly, upbeat girl that you see almost everyday. And us hanging out like this... maybe I'm taking advantage a little, because I'm scared of us not being friends, or growing apart, or... I don't know."

Timmy chuckled to himself after a moment.

"What? Why are you laughing?"

"It's nothing. I... haven't been a good friend, that's all. I didn't realize that Chester and AJ leaving bothered you too. I should've... but I guess I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts. I didn't think about how it might be affecting you." Timmy leaned into Tootie and rested his head against hers. "Sorry."

"I hate to put you on the spot, but can I ask you a favor... Or... well, more like a promise?"

"What're friends for?"

"I know that... we can't be together, I made peace with that a while ago. But... promise me we'll always be together... as friends."

How odd this girl could be at times... Earlier she was all confident about following Trixie and Veronica around, or being flirty with Timmy, yet now here she was doing a complete heel turn and being shy and pensive.

"Timmy?"

Right, she still wanted an answer. "I promise." How could he not? He hadn't even meant to hesitate, but had gotten lost in his thoughts after she asked.

"Thanks... Oh, don't look now, but the lovebirds are on the move." Tootie pointed at Trixie and Veronica, who had just exited the photo booth.

"Now... what'll happen if we don't give them the antidote?"

"Well... like I said, it should pass through their systems within the next few days, why?"

"I'm just wondering if giving the potion to two people might have a different effect. Could the potion actually make two people fall in love in a more permanent-type way?"

"Hm... I... never thought about that! Normally, you use it on someone that you want to fall in love with you, so you only use one dose, but since we used a dose on each of them... They might fall in love for reals, or they might fall out of love once it wears off. I for one hope it sticks."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I don't particularly like Trixie, but Veronica hasn't really wronged me in any way... Other than being competition for getting you. I'm a firm believer that everyone should have someone... Well, except the real assholes, but that's a different story."

"They're looking over here again."

"Well... you're still holding me..."

"I can't exactly break character now!"

Veronica smiled and waved at Timmy and Tootie. "You two make a really cute couple!"

Tootie glanced over at Timmy. "Just go with it..." she whispered to him.

"I know..." Timmy whispered back before yelling over to Veronica. "Thanks! You two do too!"

"Smooth..."

"Shut up..." Timmy looked over at the two girls, who were now walking toward them. _"Now what?"_

"Y'know..." Trixie began. "Tad and Chad mentioned that you two have been following us around a lot lately... They said that you two have something- And I quote, 'Sinister' planned. They also said that you two aren't really together, that it must be a cover to get close to us and lure us into a false sense of security."

"...Okay..."

"So are you two together?"

"Does it look like we are?"

"Sure." Trixie shrugged. "But looks can be deceiving. Maybe you two are just trying to lure us into a false sense of security..."

"Trixie come on." Veronica placed her hand on her friend/girlfriend's shoulder. "I'm sure it's just Tad and Chad screwing around, you know they never liked Timmy and his friends."

Timmy was glad Veronica was such an understanding(and gullible) individual, but was surprised that Trixie was suddenly so bold. Why was she asking these questions now?

"I'm well aware of how those two are. But these two _have_ been following us around all day, that can't be a coincidence."

"It could be." Timmy shrugged.

"Okay, maybe it could, but I want a little proof that you two are together."

"_Fuck..."_ Timmy thought to himself. "I know I'm gonna regret this, but... what'd you have in mind?"

"Nothing too bad... Just... a kiss?"

"_Should've known..."_ Timmy looked at Tootie, who was currently giving him a _very_ unsure look. _"Do I stay in character... or do we abort?" _If only she could read his thoughts.

Even Tootie wasn't sure what to do in this situation. While it was true that this would have been pretty much the best thing ever for her a few years ago, now it was... Well, something to be avoided, at the very least.

"Well...?" Trixie was enjoying this just a little too much, judging by the tone of her voice.

"I'm... not much of an exhibitionist."

Tootie began to speak, but Timmy silenced her with his finger on her lips.

"And neither is she."

"Mm..." Tootie narrowed he eyes at Timmy.

"Nope, we're perfectly happy just hanging out with each other, not showing off our love. It's simpler that way, and I don't have to worry about people talking about us being together."

"But you two _are_ together, right?"

"In the sense that I'm sitting next to Tootie, with my arm around her, yes."

"I mean as a couple. Normally when two people are together, they don't use such evasive language and are a bit more affectionate then you two are."

Timmy felt Tootie nudge him with her elbow.

He had a feeling he'd regret the action he was about to perform. No, he knew he'd regret it. But he _did_ promise to help Tootie with her god-forsaken experiment... And that _did_ mean doing their best to stay in character...

Timmy leaned a bit closer to Tootie, before being stunned as she leaned forward and kissed him on the lips, then pulled away quickly. "Happy?" She glared at Trixie and Veronica.

"Suppose so." Trixie shrugged. "Though I've been more intimate with Veronica in the past."

"Well good for you." Tootie rolled her eyes.

Trixie smirked and walked off.

Veronica watched her walk away, then turned back toward the not-couple. "Well, um... see you two around!"

"Later Veronica." Timmy waved as she followed Trixie away.

"..."

"Let's not talk about this ever again." Timmy looked at Tootie now.

"Agreed. You're a terrible kisser."

"I wasn't ready!"

"So if you were ready, the kiss would've been better?"

"Yes, it would have."

"Then-"

"And no, we're not trying again. We've crossed the friendship line enough times today." Timmy stood up from the bench. "So, you wanna continue this, or can we finally head home?"

Tootie sighed and stretched. "I guess... We might as well call it a day. Those two are gonna get suspicious at this rate."

"Finally." Timmy took out his phone and called Vicky's number. "Hey, you busy? Yeah, Tootie and I are all set. No, it was pretty boring actually. Yeah, Tootie's potion definitely worked, it's just... There isn't much to learn... Yes, I do occasionally like to learn about things. Can you just give us a ride, please? Thank you." Timmy hung up his phone and pocketed it. "Let's go."

The two made their way back to the mall entrance and found Vicky waiting for them.

"'Nother minute and I was gonna leave you two to fend for yourselves." she got in her car, followed by Timmy as he got in the front passenger seat, and Tootie in the back. "So I guess it was pretty uneventful?"

"Yep!" Timmy answered quickly. "Tootie took her notes, and everything was fine. Nothing... important happened."

Vicky looked at Timmy and narrowed her eyes. "Tootie?"

"Huh?"

"Anything you might need to tell me?"

"Nope. Just a regular day at the mall, stalking a couple of popular kids."

"Hmph. If you say so."

Timmy knew he'd have to tell her about the kiss eventually, but maybe when both he and Tootie weren't in the line of fire. Less chance of being left on the side of the road that way, or getting slapped.


	4. Indiscretion

A/N: Short chapter is short, but I wanted to clear the air with this one, since I figure Timmy would be the kind of person to let something like what happened between him and Tootie get to him.

* * *

><p>His phone rang.<p>

It wasn't the first time. It had to be... "Lucky number thirteen..."

_BEEP_

"_Alright, if you don't pick up this time, I'm gonna come over there and kick your ass."_

Vicky had been trying to reach him for the past week now. And he was too much of a coward to answer his phone when she called. The one time he had answered was because he thought it had been Tootie calling, but he answered to hear Vicky's voice instead and immediately hung up.

Timmy groaned and picked up his phone. "Yeah?"

"The fuck's your problem?! I've been trying to reach you for almost a week! Where've you been?!"

"I've been... around. Just... got caught up with schoolwork and stuff."

"Oh yeah? What exactly?"

"Just... schoolwork... y'know, projects and stuff."

"Don't you lie to me."

"I'm-"

"Yes you are! If you're gonna break up with me, at least have the balls to tell me, rather than try to sneak away!"

"I'm not trying to break up with you! I just- ...I screwed up."

"Then why not call me and tell me about it? I can't exactly help you if you don't tel me anything!"

"You're the reason I can't tell anyone about it..."

"Why? What'd you do that has you acting like you're ten again?"

"I can't-"

"I'm coming over."

"Wait! I-"

Vicky had already hung up.

"Great, I'm dead." Timmy placed his phone on his bedside table next to his fishbowl.

The two goldfish looked at him judgmentally.

"Shut up. So I screwed up, I'm already kicking myself over it, I don't need you two giving me those looks."

The two goldfish didn't respond.

"Hmph." Timmy grabbed his phone and put it in his pocket, then left his room to go and wait for his imminent death in the living room.

True, Tootie was the one that kissed him, but he didn't exactly push her away... But... he didn't really feel anything either, that was how he tried to convince himself that he wasn't at fault. He didn't particularly enjoy the kiss, so he wasn't the bad guy, right?

Not quite. As the days went by, Timmy felt more and more guilty. He wasn't sure if he was afraid of Vicky killing him for what he did, or if he simply couldn't face her for his screw up. Not that what he was currently doing was any better. Avoiding Vicky and making her think that he wanted to break up with her was exactly what he didn't want to happen.

"Dammit! Why does she have to make things so weird and screwed up between us?!"

Okay, that wasn't fair. At least, not entirely. He couldn't blame Tootie for what happened... Well, he _could_, but he was just as much at fault as she was. He had been contemplating kissing her when Trixie confronted them, even if it was only to stay in cover, but he still shouldn't have thought about it. They were both pretty smart for their age, couldn't they have thought of something that wouldn't make him feel guilty?

Other than his not talking to Vicky, Timmy's week had been unusually uneventful. He still helped Tootie with her tailing of Trixie and Veronica, and Tootie's potion had worn off on Tuesday. The two still seemed to harbor some feelings for each other, but had apparently decided to be significantly less pubic about it. They had also(thankfully) either forgotten about Timmy and Tootie being together, or had decided it wasn't worth gossiping about. Whichever it was, Timmy was thankful for it, he didn't want to have to deal with all the knowing stares at school while still dealing with the guilt he was feeling over the quick little kiss between him and Tootie.

A knock came at the front door, signifying Vicky's arrival.

Timmy stood up slowly, hoping to stave off his death for as long as possible. Sure, he had said himself that Vicky was a lot nicer and more understanding than he thought, but that was because he had yet to cross her. Now she was mad at him for avoiding her, _and_ he was about to admit to kissing her sister, and shortly after she had asked him to keep an eye on Tootie! So what did he do but keep his lips on her as well!

"I suppose sixteen years is a full enough life." Timmy went over to the front door and answered it.

Vicky didn't speak as she walked past him with her arms across her chest and sat down on the couch, then beckoned him over to sit next to her.

Timmy gulped as he shut the front door and went over to sit next to her. He didn't feel like he could meet her gaze now, almost as if he was unworthy to do so.

"I didn't come over here to sit in silence. Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I haven't-"

"Yes you have! I'm here in person now, so if you're going to break up with me, let's not dance around it, just get it-"

"No! It's not-" Timmy moved raised his hand to try and comfort her, but stopped himself and returned it to his lap. "I don't want to break up with you..."

"Then what's the matter? I've been worried about you all week..."

"Really?"

"Yes. Tootie's told me about how depressed you've been lately, but she also said that you seemed happier since we started... dating. But with you not returning my calls, I was afraid that you might be getting depressed again, or that you might hurt yourself..." Vicky looked at her hands in her own lap now. "Did- did I do something to upset you?"

"No! Nononono! It's not you... it's... I screwed up, big time."

"Okay... Well how 'bout we talk about it instead of you avoiding me?"

"I like living, see, that's why I don't want to talk about it."

"So what? You're afraid I'm going to kill you once you tell me what you did? What could you have done that would make me pissed off enough to kill you?"

"Remember how you took me and Tootie to the mall about a week ago so we could work on that little project of hers?"

"Yeah..."

"Well, everything was going fine, we were following Trixie and Veronica around the mall, no problems. But then Veronica came over to us when she saw us and ask what we're doing, so Tootie makes the brilliant decision to tell her that we were on a date."

"Yeah, that sounds like something she'd do."

"That seemed to be enough to satisfy Veronica, so she went back to following Trixie and we went back to following them..."

"I still don't see what exactly has been bothering you."

"I'm getting there. We eventually caught up with them near a photo booth, and we sat down on a bench to wait for them to come out when Tootie starts getting all... I don't know. Maybe nostalgic, maybe sentimental, but definitely more affectionate than she has in a while. She tells me about how she's been feeling kinda depressed since Chester and AJ left, and how she was worried that I'd pack up and leave one day too."

"But... I thought you planned on staying in Dimmsdale?"

"I do. Trust me, I'm not going anywhere... Anyway, Trixie and Veronica noticed us again, and Trixie said she didn't believe that we were together, that she wanted some proof. I know Tootie wanted us to stay in character so we could observe them, but..."

"But?"

"Trixie wanted us to kiss."

"Ah... so now it all makes sense. Why you've been acting weird and avoiding me."

"I was afraid of what you'd think if you found out, but I also wanted to hold up my end of my deal with Tootie, since she helped me out with... well, you. I felt torn, between my relationship with you, and my friendship with Tootie. I was gonna kiss her, then tell you about it when I felt... safe... But she kissed me! Agh! I've been so stupid! Look, I'm really sorry that it happened, and I'm sorry I haven't been returning your calls, I just... I didn't know how to face you after I did that..."

"Wait. The whole reason you've been ignoring my calls and not talking to me... Because Tootie kissed you?"

"It's not just that! I could've pushed her away and I didn't! I just sat there like n idiot and let her kiss me! Even if it was for only a second..."

"Jeez. For someone who's apparently fairly smart, you can be really stupid sometimes."

"Huh?"

"You. Are. Dumb. Do you really think I'd hold some kind of monster grudge against you because my sister kissed you? All it really means is that you two got it out of your systems. And the fact that you've been beating yourself up for nearly a week because you were worried about how I might feel shows me that you really do care about our relationship."

"So..." Timmy scooted a bit closer to Vicky. "You're not mad at me?"

"Not really. I'm more mad that you avoided me than I am about Tootie kissing you." Vicky pulled him closer and rested her head on his shoulder. "Don't make me worry about you like that..."

"_Huh... This is going... better than expected..." _Timmy rested his cheek against the top of Vicky's head. "Sorry..."

"Damn right you are."


End file.
